RECLAIM FREEDOM: DEVELOP YOUR UNIQUE STRENGTHS

When we were conceived and growing in our mother's womb, we were "free." There were no expectations, no doubt, no fear...we had the freedom to just "be." The day we were born, we were stripped of our freedom. From day one, we were exposed to societal expectations born out of our ancestors, as well as limiting beliefs, judgments, fear, worry, doubt, biases, and so much more. The focus growing up was on what we couldn't do not what we could, on our weaknesses not our strengths, and on what we’re expected to "be" not what makes us unique.

There are a few "humans" who overcame fear of rejection, went against the norm, and searched for their inner "truth." They discovered their talents, turned those talents into strengths, and aimed for a higher purpose in life. These are our great leaders of the World who had a vision for what the future “could be:” George Washington, Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, Warren Buffet…just to name a few.

It is time to reclaim your freedom. We were all born with talents and put on this earth to be unique. Sharpen your mind, develop your innate gifts, and break free of the limitations you have been swaddled in since birth. It is not about power, money, status or prestige. It is about you, your innate gifts, your uniqueness, and your own power to be the best of who you were born to be. Discover, accept, and strengthen your own inner self to re-gain freedom, happiness, and fulfillment.

In return, be a servant leader and teach others to lead by your example. Let our children be born into the universal truths of goodness, uniqueness, and empower them to serve others by being their best selves! Only then will we truly live out our personal destiny and leave behind our true legacy. Go forth and make an impact on the world, seek to strengthen "humankind," rather than destroy the uniqueness of human existence. - All rights reserved (c) 2015 Beckie Jorgensen

Talent Identification: 10 Key Interview Questions Every Manager Should Ask

To create an engaged, committed, and accountable team, managers should focus on creating recruitment strategies that (1) assess and select job candidates for talent, (2) right fit for the team, and (3) organizational culture. In order to do this, managers need to ask great interview questions. The following 10 interview questions can help managers focus on excellence to attract talent and expand their team’s strengths:


1. What was your most significant achievement in the past 12 months?
2. What are you passionate about?
3. What kind of roles or activities do you naturally excel in?
4. Give me an example of a weakness.
5. Are you a big picture or a detail person?
6. When you achieve success at work, how do you like to be recognized?
7. Give an example of a time at work when something distracted you from being positive, productive, or accurate in your job responsibilities?
8. Review the last two weeks in your mind. When were you at your best -- engaged and productive? What talents were being used at that time?
9. What unique qualities could you bring to the company?
10. Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 

A team's success ultimately depends on its ability to perform. I help managers recruit, engage, manage, and develop their employees based on their unique talents. In addition, I coach managers and teams to learn how to intentionally use their talents and strengths to help them achieve performance objectives and maximize the team's potential for success.

A Must Read for Leaders, Managers, and HR Professionals! No Joke!

“God gives each of us special talents and gifts. It is both our privilege and our duty to make the most of them.” – Robert E. Allen

If you are a Leader, Manager or HR Professional, you have to read this! It is no joking matter!

As a former HR Professional, I have personally witnessed the profound impact not engaged and actively disengaged employees have on an organization's financial success, productivity, profitability, and customer satisfaction. That is why I made a BIG SHIFT!

1. WHAT IS DIFFERENT? 

I am a strengths-based Executive Coach/Trainer that helps Leaders, Managers and teams develop and use their talents and strengths​ to achieve success!

2. WHY? 

Gallup's work personally resonated with me as a former Certified ​HR Professional for 15 years,​ because all the companies I have worked for used ​the conventional approach of​ focusing​ on what an employee did wrong, identifying​ and developing​  performance plans based on fixing his/her​ weaknesses, and if all else failed, terminate the employee.

​ ​

​This April, I had the privilege of training with Gallup to become a Gallup Certified Strengths Coach. I am only the 3rd person in the State of Arizona to have this certification. I chose to study under Gallup because of the extensive research and work they have done for decades with employees and organizations to understand the impact of employee engagement in the workplace. 

3. MY AH-HA MOMENT: 

"Why in all my HR years did I not know about strengths-based development?" Darn it! What bus did I miss!

 4. THE ASTONISHING DISCOVERY:

"According to Gallup's most recent study that only 30% of the U.S. workforce in engaged! Which means, 70% of the U.S. workforce in not engaged or actively disengaged.

• Engaged employees work with passion and feel a profound connection to their company. 
• Not engaged employees have “checked out.” They put their time in, but have little energy or passion for their work. 
• Actively disengaged employees are plain “unhappy.” They act out their unhappiness and undermine what engaged coworkers accomplish." Can you relate?

​5. THE SHOCK FACTOR: 

My reaction to learning these statistics was, "OH MY, what can be done? This just breaks my heart!"  

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​6. THE PAINFUL REALIZATION:​ 

"Gallup estimates that actively disengaged employees cost the U.S. between $450-$550 billion each year in lost productivity." Seriously? OUCH!

7. THE PROOF:​

I am here to tell you "the proof is in the pudding!" Gallup’s research has proven over and over that employee ​engagement is directly correlated with business outcomes essential to financial success, increased productivity, profitability, and customer satisfaction.

​ 

8. MY MISSION:

​My mission is to coach and train​ leaders, managers, and teams to create​ cultures that are strengths-based, engagement focused, and performance oriented.  

9. HOW I SERVE:

To create a strengths-based culture, you must start with training managers from top-down how to:

1. H​ire the right talent to fit their team’s culture to achieve performance goals.
2. Identify what excites, motivates, and engages each team member and to individualize their approach and understand and appreciate each employee's unique gift and contributions.
3. Set the right performance expectations, hold employees accountable for these expectations, and help each team member ​use his/her talents to learn, grown, and improve performance.
4. Effectively on board employees and provide role specific development opportunities to help them gain proficiency and achieve success.

​And then, it is time to work with the teams....​Want to know more?

10. ROI, YOU ASK?​

Simply put (again the proof is in the pudding):

• People who use their strengths every day are six times more likely to be engaged on the job.
• Teams that focus on strengths everyday have 12.5% greater productivity.
• Teams that receive strengths feedback have 9.8% greater profitability.

​If your organization could benefit from these improvements, what impact would this have on its profitability, productivity, employee engagement and retention? If you do the math, the ROI speaks for itself.

11. CALL-TO-ACTION

My Call-To-Action is if you are a Leader, Manager, or HR Professional and want to be successful and have great teams to work with, get on the Strengths Revolution Bus with me! You cannot afford not too!

Why I Do What I Do!

What Is Your Life Purpose?

I love this quote:

“You are not here merely to make a living. You are here to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, and a finer spirit of home and achievement. You are here to enrich the world. You impoverish yourself if you forget the errand.”-Woodrow Wilson

We all have a life purpose. Have you actually stopped for a moment and really thought about this? A life purpose is a calling, a path...that you choose. You create your purpose from experiences, interests, passions, values and most importantly from your innate strengths. Do you know what your innate strengths are? Do you apply your strengths to every aspect of your life and work? 

“Your purpose is anything that touches your heart and makes a difference to you.” – Marcia Wieder

StrengthsFinder identified my top 5 strengths as Strategic, Maximizer, Responsibility, Futuristic, and Positivity. Discovering my strengths and aligning them to my work and daily activities has helped me create a "meaningful life." The benefit of which is increased happiness, satisfaction, fulfillment, growth, and success. 

“God gives each of us special talents and gifts. It is both our privilege and our duty to make the most of them.” – Robert E. Allen

My life purpose is two-fold:

For individuals, 

"I want to inspire people to never give up on their dreams, passions, and hope!"  

By coaching people to discover their unique strengths and aligning them with their talents, skills, knowledge, and passions they achieve career fulfillment and success, which in turn creates a happier life.

“Never continue a job you don’t enjoy. If you’re happy in what you are doing, you’ll like yourself, you’ll have inner peace. And if you have that, along with physical health, you will have more success than you could possibly imagine.” – Johnny Carson

For Corporations, 

"To be a servant Leader to empower and train other Leaders to strategically transform their organization to create a dynamic strength based culture that maximizes opportunities for employees to use their strengths at work." 

My mission is to change Corporate America by developing effective leaders and helping them re-engage employees at work to make the World a better place.

“An effective executive builds on strengths – their own strengths, the strengths of superiors, colleagues, subordinates, and on the strength of the situation.” – Peter Drucker

Do you need help in discovering your life purpose? Do you want to be an effective Leader? Do you need help aligning your strengths to your work?

I am here to help!

Smile,

Beckie

Visit me at: www.beckiejorgensen.com

Have You "Checked Out" at Work?

You are not the only one!

According to Gallup's most recent data, 70% of people are either not engaged or actively disengaged at work. Meaning, they have "checked out." Having been in Corporate Human Resources for 15 years, I have personally witnessed employees become frustrated and angry, loose passion for the work they once loved, feel unappreciated, burn out, and develop chronic illnesses. I can honestly say I was one of them.

When I left my corporate job and started my own business, I invested in a personal Coach. At my Coach's request, I took Gallup’s StrengthsFinder to discover my top 5 strengths. It was through coaching that I learned how to align my strengths to my talents both personally and professionally. This became the foundation that transformed my life, helped me discover my unique calling, and put me on the path to lead, inspire, and serve other Professionals.

If you have never taken StrengthFinder, I highly encourage you to do so.

Why?

• Gallup's StrengthsFinder 2.0 shows you the top 5 areas where you can shine if you work toward adding the skills, knowledge, and practice required to build your talents into strengths. Gallup defines strengths as "consistent near perfect performance in an activity."
• Aligning your strengths to your job/career role according to Gallup's Research is transformational not only professionally, but personally. Their studies PROVE it.
• Learning how to apply your strengths can help you identify career roles that make the most use of your strengths or help you maximize your strengths to achieve greater success in your current role.
• Your unique strengths can lead you to discover your "WHY" in life that allows you to define your purpose, calling, or legacy.

You can purchase StrengthsFinder 2.0 (code to StrenghtsFinder assessment is included) by clicking on the book below.

Once you have taken the assessment and downloaded your report, I would love to offer you a FREE 60 minute virtual coaching session to help you analyze your report!

Just contact me!

I Hate My Job. Now What Do I Do?